There were 869 private homes launched in July, up nearly 46 per cent from 597 in June, but down 4.6 per cent from 911 a year ago.
Last month's take-up was led by projects in the suburban sub-market (outside central region) with 548 sales, followed by 419 units sold in the city fringes or rest of central region, and 113 in the prime districts or core central region.
Ms Wong Siew Ying, head of research at PropNex, noted that while the relatively brisk sales in recent months may seem at odds with the gloomy economic prognosis, the current downturn is not felt evenly across all sectors of the economy. "Some sectors - such as financial services and tech - have held up better than others, and (those who) feel more secure about their job prospects or have built up substantial savings may see this as an opportune time to enter the market."
Kiwi Lim from Huttons Asia felt that the absence of new launches last month shows caution among some developers. He believe that developers may delay their launches till next year when Covid vaccines are expected to be ready by laboratories across the world.
"Developers also need more time to recalibrate their pricing strategies as well as to (implement) safe management measures, especially for larger-scale projects," said Mr Ong Teck Hui, senior director of research and consultancy at JLL.
URA Realis data showed 147 deals transacted at more than $2 million each in July compared with 118 such deals in June, said CBRE's head of research for South-east Asia Desmond Sim. "There were also some large quantum deals of more than $5 million in luxury projects such as 15 Holland Hill last month."
Upcoming launches include Penrose in Sims Drive and The Landmark in Chin Swee Road.
Disputing talk of discounts, Mr Wong Xian Yang, Cushman & Wakefield's associate director of research for Singapore and South-east Asia, said median prices of the top five selling projects in July were similar to or even higher compared with those from the time of their launch to July.
For instance, the median price for The Florence Residences from the time of its launch to July was $1,471 per sq ft (psf), but it rose to $1,559 psf in July, he pointed out.
Upcoming launches include Penrose in Sims Drive and The Landmark in Chin Swee Road.